San Jose Sharks Youngsters Stepping Up At Opportune Time

Four Sharks who are relatively new to the fold are a big reason San Jose has come this far.

Due to attributes such as energy and physicality not showing up on the stat-sheet, a few San Jose Sharks youngsters’ successful play can only be seen in watching the game rather than looking at the postgame box score.

Joonas Donskoi, Chris Tierney, Tomas Hertl and Melker Karlsson are four of the Sharks most inexperienced players, but each of their contributions have been much-needed for San Jose to get to this point. They may not be the most prolific scorers on the squad yet each have provided a lot in their own way.

Donskoi looks to have an extremely bright future in the league. The Finnish rookie had a healthy 36 points in the regular season, and his overtime game-winner on Saturday gave him six goals and 12 points in the playoffs.

His swift skating and playmaking ability in the offensive zone is second-to-none for his age, and he will only get more comfortable as he gains more experience in the NHL.

Hertl has NHL experience, yet is still only 22 and is on track to be a Sharks first-line power forward for the future. He has 102 career regular season points in 200 games, has 11 points in this year’s playoffs and is very effective winning battles for the puck and using his 6’2″ frame to overpower smaller opponents to win possession.

Hertl has been the perfect fit on the top-line along with one of the league’s premier passers in Joe Thornton, and goal-scorers in Joe Pavelski. His impressive two-way play and skills in his own zone have given the first-line a heavy boost.

Following the Game 3 victory, Thornton specifically mentioned Karlsson as someone who stepped up in filling in for the injured Hertl. Hertl and Donskoi are often seen on the scoreboard, but Karlsson is used more for his backcheck abilities and defensive play, typically on the third line.

He didn’t notch a point in Game 3, however his hard work on the forecheck was pivotal on the Sharks’ first and third goals, and he did about as good as one could ask moving up to the unfamiliar first-line in the Stanley Cup Final.

Check out Karlsson – without a stick – keeping the puck in the zone prior to the game-winner.

Staying out of the penalty box is something he excels in, as he remarkably hasn’t entered the box in his last 13 contests.

Despite some inconsistent play in the Nashville and St. Louis series and not providing much in the way of points overall, Karlsson seems to play better in the bigger games. He notched a point in both series-clinching games against the Kings and Predators and finished with a plus-one rating in the final game of the Blues series.

One who certainly has improved throughout each series and made a huge leap in performance from regular season to playoffs, maybe the most of anyone on the team, is Tierney. The 2012 second-round draft pick went from 20 points in 79 regular season contests to eight points in just 21 playoff games. His ice time has gone up over a minute per game and he holds a plus-six playoff rating.

Next: Three Takeaways From Game Three

Head coach Peter DeBoer’s decision to move him up to the third-line center position in the midst of the playoffs has undoubtedly paid off. Tierney does fine work in both zones and at the age of 21, looks to have a long future in the league. He had an assist on Donskoi’s game-winning goal and was on the ice for two Sharks goals.

The Sharks have their big-guns of Pavelski, Thornton, Brent Burns and a few others to thank for their continued success in the last several years, but these new faces have helped the team make the leap from playoff team to Cup contender this season. No matter how the remaining two to four games unfold, the play of their youth is a big reason the Sharks have exceeded the expectations of many around the league.